Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Subculture - I Heard A Scream

Label: Fartblossom / No Core
Year: 1985

In the midst of some hometown nostalgia-cum-old-band-reunion talk around these parts (the parts in question having originated in Winston-Salem, North Carolina [New Start Posse!] mind you), and that, by default is going to eventually circle back to the O.G. Winston-Salem hardcore band, Subculture. Amidst the Bloodmobiles, and No Labels, and Stillborn Christians, and Ugly Americans, and yes, even Corrosion Of Conformity's, there was our own Subculture.
Mix together the straight ahead hardcore of Minor Threat with the nastiness of Corrosion Of Conformity, maybe Void, thrown in some of the goth-ish elements of early T.S.O.L., and you get Subculture more or less.
While Winston-Salem's biggest musical export, Let's Active, was making alliances with R.E.M, Subculture was making alliances with C.O.C. and making regular trips to Raleigh and Durham to play with the hardcore bands sprouting up there, which eventually would lead to Simon Bob Sinister drawing the cover art, and Reed Mullin producing and singing back-ups (along with Woody Weatherman as well). The band even got out and toured around a couple of times, oddly enough with NOFX, and garnered good reviews, but eventually split after recording a second album that was never released.
They went on to play in other bands, most notably, Kevin Collins singing for Double Negative (some 20 years later!), but also bands like Erectus Monotone, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Days Of, and others.
Fucking essential.
More on Winston-Salem hardcore's second generation to come (I'm sure you can't wait)